Raul Jimenez Shines As Wolves Stun Manchester United in the FA Cup

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Nuno Espirito Santo, Manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates victory following the FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at Molineux on March 16, 2019 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Manchester United traveled to the West Midlands to play against Wolves late on Saturday night in the FA Cup quarter-final. United hoped to bounce back from last week’s 2-0 loss to Arsenal. Nuno Espirito’s men are having a wonderful season and have a very impressive record against the top six sides this season. The FA Cup was both teams’ best chance at earning silverware this season and therefore both managers fielded their best eleven.

Manchester United Outclassed By Nuno’s Wolves

Nerves Brewing Early

Both the teams started as even contenders with equal terms of domination in the first quarter of the match. Solskajer’s men bustled with pace as Lingard and Martial looked in good rhythm after their injury. Romero looked solid between the sticks as he made two very good saves to his left. Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford both tested John Ruddy from the distance as the Reds failed to make an impact in the box. Wolves, on the other hand, were glazing in the attacking half with Ruben Neves, Raul Jimenez, and Joao Moutinho completing a beautifully organized trio. Diego Dalot’s 38th minute shot looked to be deflected by hand in the penalty area with United claiming for a penalty. However, it was denied by the VAR as both teams were goalless at half time.

Wolves Domination

The tie turned completely in the second half with Raul Jimenez beautifully placing a half-volley into the bottom left corner on the 70th minute. Wolves lead 1-0 at Molineux Stadium. Six minutes later, Diego Jota made the most of a casual mistake by Luke Shaw as he drilled a low effort past Sergio Romero to make it 2-0. The home crowd was buzzing with ecstasy as Wolves came back completely dominating The Red Devils. United’s woes weren’t over as Victor Lindelof was shown a red card in the 81st minute by Martin Atkinson! Lindelof dashed towards an incoming Jota which looked as a bookable offense but not a red card. The decision was rightfully corrected by VAR as United heaped a breath of hope.

Next Steps

Marcus Rashford pulled one back for the visitors late into injury time after Shaw set him up for the goal. However, it proved to be very little use, as Wolves booked a semi-final berth along with Watford and Manchester City. This will be the first time Nuno Espirito Santos’s men has reached the last four of the competition since 1997-98. Manchester United will look forward to regaining their form in the Premier League as they slumped to two consecutive defeats.